Pan-Seared King Oyster 'Scallops'...Pan-Seared King Oyster 'Scallops' with Vanilla-Parsnip Purée and Blackberry Gastrique

An elegant avant-garde vegan dish featuring caramelized king oyster mushroom medallions over a velvety, vanilla-infused parsnip purée, balanced by a tart blackberry-thyme gastrique and toasted hazelnut soil.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   Prepare the mushroom 'scallops' by scoring a shallow crosshatch pattern on both flat cut sides of each mushroom round. Season lightly with salt and set aside.

2. 02

   In a medium saucepan, combine chopped parsnips, oat milk, and the scraped vanilla bean paste and pod. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat and cook until parsnips are fork-tender, about 15-20 minutes.

3. 03

   Remove the vanilla pod from the parsnip mixture. Transfer the parsnips and liquid to a high-speed blender. Add 25g of vegan butter and blend on high until completely smooth, velvety, and glossy. Season with salt to taste and keep warm.

4. 04

   For the gastrique, combine blackberries, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and 2 sprigs of thyme in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer for 10 minutes until the berries break down. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing to extract all juices, and discard solids. Set the smooth gastrique aside.

5. 05

   Heat olive oil in a heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushroom rounds, scored side down. Sear undisturbed for 3-4 minutes until a deep golden-brown crust forms.

6. 06

   Flip the mushrooms, add the remaining 25g of vegan butter and 2 sprigs of thyme to the pan. Baste the mushrooms continuously with the foaming melted butter for another 3 minutes until tender throughout. Drain on paper towels.

7. 07

   To plate, spoon a generous pool of the warm vanilla-parsnip purée onto the center of each plate. Arrange three mushroom 'scallops' on top. Artfully drizzle the blackberry gastrique around the plate. Garnish with toasted hazelnut soil, flaky Maldon salt, and microgreens.